Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar desert on Earth. Photo: iStockMiami: It may rain once a decade or less in South America’s Atacama Desert, but tiny bacteria and microorganisms survive there, hinting at the possibility of similar life on Mars, researchers said on Monday. Genomic analyses helped identify the several apparently indigenous species of microbial life — mostly bacteria — that had somehow adapted to live in the harsh environment by lying dormant for years, then re-animating and reproducing once it rained. Since Mars had oceans and lakes billions of years ago, researchers say early life forms may have thrived there, too. “If life ever evolved on Mars, our research suggests it could have found a subsurface niche beneath today’s severely hyper-arid surface.”

Source: Mint February 27, 2018 11:48 UTC